Details
- Duration
- 1 evening a week for 6 weeks / 7 benchmark wines each evening
- Time
- 6.45-8.45pm (Evgs 1 & 2 last a little longer).
- Location
- C-Space, 37-45 City Road, London EC1Y 1AT. This is immediately opposite the Bunhill Cemetery and Zebra Crossing, and right next to Wesley’s Chapel. A 3 minute walk from Old Street Tube, 7 minutes from Moorgate or Liverpool Street, and on numerous bus routes: 43, 76, 121, 141, 177 etc.
- Price
- £359 Scroll to the bottom of this page for the purchase link.
This course is based on the 9 tastings detailed in the last section of my book: Essential Winetasting. It is an introduction to basic tasting technique, covering the world’s major grape varieties and their varying styles from the principal wine producing countries.
NEXT COURSE DATES: Autumn 2020:
BOOKING WILL BE AVAILABLE WHEN DATES ARE CONFIRMED.
Because of the uncertainties surrounding Coronavirus,
these dates are provisional:
Mondays: Oct 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov 2, 9.
Beginners course core content
- Benchmark quality wines to taste.
- A thorough grounding in tasting, in how to ‘see what there is to see’.
- Perceiving quality differences, describing style differences.
- Enabling you to make sense of what you taste in terms of description, quality, style, typicity, preference, value for money, drinking context.
- 41 wines are tasted ranging, approximately, from £5 to £45 a bottle.
By the end of six weeks you will have
- Tasted the majority of different wine types.
- A system which helps you compare, describe and remember wines.
- A means of enabling you to perceive and discuss their quality.
- The ability to see more ‘patterns’ in wine, & make more sense of its great variety.
- A better developed combination of personal taste and objective judgement.
Wines from europe
- France: Loire (Muscadet, Sancerre,) Alsace; Burgundy (red, white); Beaujolais; Bordeaux; Champagne; Rhône.
- Italy: Tuscany; Piedmont.
- Spain: Rioja; Sherry.
- Germany: Mosel.
- Hungary: Tokay.
- Portugal: Port, Madeira.
Wines from the new world
- Australia
- New Zealand
- California
- Chile
- South Africa
Major grape varieties tasted
- White: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Furmint, Muscat
- Red: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Syrah/Shiraz
Major wine styles tasted
- White
- Red
- Dry
- Sweet
- Sparkling
- Fortified
Beginners Course Synopses
Wines: Dry Whites
Countries / Regions: ITALY, FRANCE: Alsace, Loire, Burgundy
Grapes: Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
You will learn about::
- Glassware to use, styles of bottles
- How and where you notice sweetness, acidity
- The tasting properties of alcohol
- Basic Tasting Technique – How to get the most out of a wine
- The elements in white wine balance
- Varieties of white wine style & the importance of acidity
- What colour tells you in white wine
- How to tell differences in quality in dry white wines
- How to “nose” efficiently
- France and its ‘Appellation ‘ system
- The effects of oak barrels on white wine
- White wine and temperature
- Combining white wine with food
Wines: Reds
Countries / Regions: FRANCE: Bordeaux, Burgundy, SPAIN: Rioja ITALY: Piedmont
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo.
You will learn about:
- How grapes are grown and how wine is made (POWERPOINT SHOW)
- The differences between red wine and white wine
- Grape skins – what tannin is, and its effect on wine and food
- The effects of temperature on red wine
- What colour tells you in red wine
- How to tell differences in quality in red wines
- The effect of oak barrels on red wine
- Decanting, and letting wines ‘breathe’
- Combining red wines with food
- Geography and hierarchy in Bordeaux
- Wine and age. Is older necessarily better?
Wines: Reds & Whites (Dry & At Various Levels Of Sweetness)
Countries / Regions: FRANCE, GERMANY, HUNGARY, CHILE
Grapes: All the wines are served ‘blind’ this evening
You will learn about:
- Blind Tasting (red and white) – its advantages and disadvantages
- ‘What it’s like’ versus ‘whether I like it’
- Is it ‘good value’? versus Is it ‘good of its kind’?
- Wine and words
- Description as distinct from evaluation
- How sweet wines are made
- Varieties of sweet wine styles
- The effects of alcohol on taste
- Wines at very different levels of sweetness
- What ‘Noble Rot’ is
- Combining dessert wines with food
Wines: Sparkling & ‘Muted’ & Fortified
Countries / Regions: FRANCE, SPAIN/ITALY, USA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND
Grapes: Dessert Muscats; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
You will learn about:
- How sparkling wines are made (POWERPOINT SHOW)
- Tasting and judging sparkling wines – Blind
- Quality in sparkling wines – the bubbles especially
- Serving sparkling wines
- Stopping fermentation to make wines sweet
- The extraordinary Muscat family
Wines: Dry Whites & Reds
Countries / Regions: AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CALIFORNIA, SOUTH AFRICA
Grapes: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc; Syrah/Shiraz, Cab. Sauvignon, Merlot
You will learn about:
- Viticulture & Winemaking in the New World (POWERPOINT SHOW)
- Non European wines
- How New World wines are labelled
- How New World Wines differ in style from European wines
- Different styles, but the same fundamental quality criteria
- Syrah (Europe) versus Shiraz (Australia)
- New World Cabernet based wines
- How to tell faults in wine
Wines: Fortified (Sherry, Port, Madeira)
Countries / Regions: SPAIN, PORTUGAL, MADEIRA
Grapes: A great number!
You will learn about:
- Where & how Sherry, Port and Madeira are made (POWERPOINT SHOW)
- Fortified wines and their different styles
- Sherry: bone dry, and sweet
- Madeira: at very different quality levels
- Port: ruby or tawny, and vintage
- Tasting and judging fortified wines
- Fortified wines and food
- A revision of how you perceive and articulate quality differences
- How to store & cellar wines, the different systems available
- Making your own notes and records, how and why
- Buying wine en primeur, to ‘lay down’.
[tribe_events_list category=”beginners-courses”]
